9,148 Haj pilgrims selected from Maharashtra

Mumbai, May 6: The Haj committee on Tuesday, May 5 drew 1.4 lakh applicants for the Mecca pilgrimage out of the 3.57 lakh applied. Nearly two lakh pilgrims have to wait for their luck again.

The lottery was held at different centres across India. For a quota of 9,148 in Maharashtra about 50,000 people applied and more than 15,000 alone applied for Mumbai's quota of around 2,000. Though the Haj pilgrimage will start from Oct 22 actual rituals will be performed in the last week of Nov.

Despite the Saudi government's new directive that it is mandatory to have an international passport for very Haji and a temporary Haj passport will not be valid, the number of applicants for pilgrimage has not dipped. To help the people Maharashtra Haj committee has opened up an extension counter at the Regional Passport Office.

According to the Haj Committee CEO Mohammad Owais, better economic condition, trust in the Haj committees facilities and fall in the mortality rate have contributed to the increase in the number of people who wanted to perform Haj.